Longtime state Rep. Charlie Norr, a retired firefighter, is seeking re-election in a north Springfield district against Fred Ellison, a businessman who is running on Christian values and fiscal conservatism.

Norr, 70, a Democrat, is used to working with the Republicans who hold power in the House. He can be re-elected one more time before term limits will end his tenure in the House. Ellison, 61, would be a newcomer in the General Assembly. He unsuccessfully ran for the City Council in 2011 and successfully helped push for a state audit of the Springfield Public Schools that was released in 2012; it found problems with lack of oversight.

District 132 stretches from Catalpa Street on the south to Atlantic Street and just past Commercial Street on the north. The district has about 19,770 registered voters, according to the Greene County Clerk’s office.

The two appeared Oct. 9 at a lunchtime candidates forum sponsored by the Northside Betterment Association. After a meal of chicken and pasta, they spoke about their beliefs and why they are running.

Norr raised questions about whether voters should approve Amendment 2, which would allow evidence of prior criminal acts, whether charged or uncharged, to be considered by courts in prosecuting sexual crimes that involve a victim under 18 years of age. He questioned whether it is appropriate to allow accusations.

“If you’ve been in jail, found guilty that’s one thing,” Norr said.

The Missouri Constitution currently bars evidence of past crimes in trials unless a defendant opens the door to questioning about them through his or her own testimony. The General Assembly passed a law making such evidence permissible in certain sex-crime cases, but the state Supreme Court ruled that the law violated the Missouri Constitution. A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers sought the amendment on November’s ballot.

Norr, a Navy veteran and retired Maryland firefighter, was a state representative from 2006 to 2010, when he was beaten by 294 votes by Melissa Leach, then a professional fundraiser. During his first stint in the House, Norr supported efforts to reduce the interest rate on payday loans.

In his most recent term, Norr opposed capping non-economic damages on medical malpractice lawsuits. The state Supreme Court declared the caps unconstitutional in 2012 in a case brought by Deborah Watts, whose son, Naython, was born at Cox South with catastrophic brain injuries.

Norr has also supported expanding Medicaid and raising the wages for home health care workers.

He and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2002. He has declined to discuss that.

Norr had $24,526 on hand in campaign contributions in the most recent reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission, compared to $1,005 for Ellison.

Ellison, a Republican, was a classmate of former Springfield Mayor Jim O’Neal at Glendale High. He went to Drury University and lived in Oregon and California before returning to Springfield, where he is an officer in Advanced Fabrication Technologies, a business that distributes new and used metal working equipment.

Ellison said plans to retire at the end of the year and is selling his interest in the company to his partners. The business has three employees, including Ellison, and sales of $300,000 to $500,000 a year, he said.

Ellison said he will have more time to give back to the community.

“I feel I understand the economic situation of the residents of the district, and I’m in a position to represent their interests,” Ellison said.

Ellison has been active in local politics. He served on a task force that looked at whether Springfield should have a tax to better fund Springfield’s pension for police and firefighters. He also raised questions about rate increases for City Utilities.

Ellison said he wants to help existing companies grow and advocates less taxes. He wants to protect state and local sovereignty and rights such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom from search and seizure without warrants.

“Our basic rights are granted by God,” Ellison said. “God gave man the opportunity to make choices in his life.”

Ellison also favors gun rights. Ellison said that government should create reasonable environmental regulations and enforce them. He said government spending should be held in check.

“We must stop the war on retirees and on the American middle class,” Ellison said.

Court records show Ellison has been sued several times over debts, the most recently in 2012. A judgment was entered against him after Ellison’s property was sold at a trustee sale, according to the court records.

Ellison said he had been unemployed and was unable to make mortgage payments on a house he owned in Springfield at the same time he was making payments on a house in Marshfield.